James Rhyne Killian, Jr., (born July 24, 1904, Blacksburg, S.C., U.S.—died Jan. 29, 1988, Cambridge, Mass.), American statesman and academic administrator who was instrumental in the formation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) both as chairman of the President’s Science Advisory Committee and as presidential assistant to Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1957 to 1959.

In 1926 Killian earned a B.S. in engineering and business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He served on the editorial staff of Technology Review (1926–39), a scientific journal published by the MIT alumni association, before holding a series of administrative positions at MIT, including vice president (1945–48) and president (1948–59).

When the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite, in 1957, the United States reevaluated its science policy; Eisenhower chose Killian to establish priorities in research and development. After Killian helped create NASA (1958), he resigned the post as presidential adviser but continued to serve as a member of the President’s Science Advisory Committee until 1961. He worked as chairman of the Carnegie Commission on Educational Television (1965–67) and as chairman of the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (1973–74).

privately controlled coeducational institution of higher learning famous for its scientific and technological training and research. It was chartered by the state of Massachusetts in 1861 and became a land-grant college in 1863. William Barton Rogers, MIT’s founder and first president, had...

“Open skies” reflected the American fear of surprise attack. In 1954 a high-level “Surprise Attack Study” chaired by the scientist James Killian assured the President of a growing American superiority in nuclear weapons that would hold until the 1958–60 period but warned that the U.S.S.R. was ahead in long-range rocketry and would soon achieve its own secure...